Madrid, March 30, 2013 — john f.: A motley crew of Mormons walking The Way of St. James might seem strangers on the Camino indeed. This will not be the first time that Jordan and I have raised eyebrows as Mormons in a culturally non-Mormon setting. Nearly fifteen years ago we studied Yiddish together in Vilnius — many of our fellow students young and old, I recall, found it very amusing that a couple of Mormon brothers were among them. Read the rest of this entry »

Now that President Uchtdorf has rehabilitated pride in one’s children and family, I feel confident in relating my immense gratitude for my children and how proud I am of how they are developing in the Gospel. My nine year old daughter shared the following testimony in Fast and Testimony Meeting last week:

I would like to share my testimony with you. In primary today we read a poem called The Christmas Guest. In this poem a man dreamed that the Savior was going to visit him on Christmas Day. He was so excited that he prepared everything to be perfect for his guest. But as he waited he saw an old beggar at his door with torn shoes and clothes. He gave him a pair of shoes and a better coat and sent him on his way, wondering what was taking his guest so long. Next an old woman came to his door bent over under a heavy pile of sticks. She asked him for a place to rest and he allowed her to rest in his house and gave her something to eat. But he kept wondering where his guest was. Next a lost child came to his door and he knew he had to help her find her family. So he took her home to her house. When he came home Christmas was over and the man sadly went to his room and prayed to ask God why the Lord had not come. But when he was praying the Spirit told him that the Lord had kept his promise and that when he had helped those three people in need, he had been helping the Lord.

What really struck me about this poem was that the Lord was everyone so when we help everyone we are helping the Lord. And I bear that testimony to you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

We have neither encouraged nor discouraged the kids to go up to bear their testimony during Fast and Testimony Meeting but like we did when we were kids, they often choose to do so on their own, unprompted. When they do, however, they have never born the standard children’s testimony one frequently hears in Church*. This is different from when as kids we would go up and bear testimonies because I am pretty sure we always recited the standard testimony and sat back down.

I am grateful for my daughters’ thoughtful testimonies. (I’ve also seen this in Ronan’s then nine-year old son who bore his testimony at a Testimony Meeting that we held in my home at the instructions of our Stake Presidency one Sunday in January when the whole region was completely shut down with heavy snow. — These aren’t the rote testimonies that we used to bear as children.)

Earlier this year, my second daughter, six years old at the time, bore her testimony in Fast and Testimony Meeting and simply said “I am grateful to be a Christian and for the sacrifice of the Lord for me.” and sat down. These kids are miles ahead of where I was at their age. What better way to learn about the pure truths of the Gospel than from the mouths of our own children?

————————–
* i know the church is true i love my family i know the book of mormon is true i know president [x] [when we were bearing this standard kids’ testimony it was President Kimball and then President Benson] is a prophet in the name of jesus christ amen

I just started reading my blog and realized that I have not contributed a post for two years!! That went by fast! Kudos to John for (kind of) holding down the fort for that time with semi-regular postings.

“. . . . and when the night came they slept upon their [blackberries].” (compare Ether 15:20)

In my line of work, I periodically — and these days more often than previously — find myself sleeping with my blackberry under my pillow. Is this a harbinger of the imminent collapse of our civilization?

With the exception of the last three years, I have been in school, in one form or another, for my entire life. As I look back over the twelve years since I returned home from my LDS Mission to Leipzig, Germany, they are full of personal growth and accomplishment. During the last ten years, I have (1) learned and taught German; (2) studied Yiddish; (3) learned (some) French; (4) attended (and graduated from) Universities in Idaho, Utah, England, and Michigan– some more than once!; (5) chosen and begun a career that I generally enjoy; (6) helped bring four wonderful children to our family; and (7) obtained a more sure testimony of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ than I ever believed possible (in spite of nagging doubts that always tempt the mortal mind). The last ten years have seen personal growth on a scale that I never imagined possible prior to my mission. Read the rest of this entry »

Whenever the Christmas season begins and we reflect reverently on the virgin mother and her son, my mind always takes an unfortunate turn down memory lane to a personal “coming of age”, the memory of which always flushes my cheeks. Read the rest of this entry »

Today I reminded a colleague of the oft-quoted maxim in patent law that “a patent may not, like a ‘nose of wax,’ be twisted one way to avoid anticipation [finding of invalidity because something in the prior art already did what the patent describes] and another to find infringement.” He just looked at me blankly and asked “what in the world is a ‘nose of wax’?!?” and suggested that I must be making that up or misquoting something. Read the rest of this entry »